Libya condemns US raid and capture of bombing suspect

Abdullah al-Raghie (left) and Abdul Moheman al-Raghie, the sons of Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, point toward where their their father was kidnapped by the U.S. military.

Photo: AFP / Getty Images

The Libyan government on Sunday condemned what it called the “kidnapping” of one of its citizens who was taken into custody outside his home in Tripoli in a highly unusual covert operation carried out by the U.S. military.

U.S. officials hailed the capture of Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, known by alias Anas al-Libi, who was wanted in the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, as an intelligence coup that will disrupt efforts by al-Qaida to strengthen its franchise in North Africa. The operation, carried out by Special Forces on Saturday, represented a rare foray by the U.S. military into the controversial practice of whisking terrorism suspects out of countries with which Washington does not have an extradition treaty.

“Members of al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations literally can run, but they can't hide,” Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday from Indonesia.

U.S. officials said the operation was lawful under war powers that Congress granted the executive branch after the 9/11 terrorism attacks. They also noted that al-Libi is on a U.N. sanctions list and has been indicted in federal court in New York. They released no information about where he is being detained, but suggested intelligence personnel are eager to interrogate him.

“This operation should be a clear reminder that the United States will seek justice against those who would attack Americans, and never forgets those who are victims of terrorism,” said Caitlin Hayden, a National Security Council spokeswoman.

Libya's government said Sunday it had not been consulted before U.S. troops snatched al-Libi outside his home.

“Since hearing the news, the Libyan government has been in contact with American authorities and has asked them to offer clarification,” the government said, arguing that Libyans who face terrorism charges should be tried at home.

The government noted, though, that it deems its relationship with the United States a “strategic partnership” that would not be imperiled by Saturday's operation.

The re-emergence of Libya-based jihadists intent on striking on Western targets has been a top U.S. intelligence priority since the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on American government installations in Benghazi.

As they celebrated al-Libi's detention, Obama administration officials on Sunday were largely silent on a strike by Navy SEALs on a terrorist target in Somalia that appears to have failed. U.S. Navy SEALs stormed the suspected hideout of a leader of al-Shabab, the Somali al-Qaida franchise, on Friday night, seeking to detain a senior operative of the group. The troops retreated after an intense gunfight unfolded.

The operation was carried out in response to last month's brazen attack on an upscale mall in Nairobi by al-Shabab that killed dozens of people and raised concerns about the translational reach of a group that has only in recent years emerged as a global threat.

“Our personnel in the armed forces conducted two operations in order to continue to hunt down those responsible for acts of terrorism,” Kerry said. “We hope that this makes clear that the United States of America never stops in its efforts to hold accountable those who conduct acts of terror.”